Inside The Wildcats

Arizona beats Baylor in Big Monday basketball showdown: Game recap, analysis

The Wildcats snap a two-game losing streak
Ben Sherman|
Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) is pressured by Baylor Bears guard Jeremy Roach (3) and guard VJ Edgecombe (7) during the first half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion.
Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) is pressured by Baylor Bears guard Jeremy Roach (3) and guard VJ Edgecombe (7) during the first half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

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Tommy Lloyd wanted to see how his team would respond after Saturday's loss to Houston.

And the Arizona Wildcats came to play on Monday night in Texas.

Tobe Awaka had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead Arizona (18-8, 12-3) to a gritty 74-67 Big 12 victory over Baylor (16-10, 8-7).

The Wildcats went inside early and often against the Bears, outrebounding them 37 to 31 and scoring 42 points in the paint. Redshirt sophomore Henri Veesaar moved into the starting lineup and delivered 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Caleb Love scored 13 points and Anthony Dell'Orso added 11 for Arizona. Baylor freshman VJ Edgecombe led all scorers with 24 points.

Read our full game recap below.

FINAL STATS: ARIZONA 74, BAYLOR 67

The Wildcats struggled from the 3-point line for the third consecutive game, shooting just 4-of-18. But they were incredibly efficient from inside the arc (24-of-40), and that was enough to beat Baylor for the second time this season.

Freshman Carter Bryant had a big game off the bench, racking up 7 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. He hit two clutch free throws with 36 seconds left that effectively iced the game.

SECOND HALF RECAP

Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) scores a basket as Baylor Bears forward Norchad Omier defends (15).
Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) scores a basket as Baylor Bears forward Norchad Omier defends (15). | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Arizona 74, Baylor 67, final: The Wildcats come up with a huge road win and stay two games behind Houston in the race for the Big 12 title.

Arizona 70, Baylor 67, 26.2 seconds left: VJ Edgecombe is unstoppable. Baylor's freshman has 24 points and is keeping the Bears in this game.

Arizona 65, Baylor 61, 1:54 left: The Wildcats are struggling to get good looks and Baylor freshman VJ Edgecombe is dominating on the offensive end. Edgecombe has a game-high 20 points. Someone is going to have to hit a big shot for Arizona. They're 4-of-18 from downtown.

Arizona 63, Baylor 57, 4:36 left: The Wildcats are dominating the paint. Tobe Awaka has 14 points and 12 rebounds and the Wildcats are outrebounding Baylor 33 to 25.

Arizona 55, Baylor 49, 9:28 left: Jeremy Roach hits a couple of jumpers and Baylor's crowd comes alive. Game on.

Caleb Love dunk! Love just threw down a monster one-handed dunk over Norchid Omier, then stared down the Baylor bench. Oh my. Arizona leads 53-39 with just over 12 minutes to play.

Arizona 45, Baylor 35, 15:56 left: Tobe Awaka leads Arizona with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Flagrant foul on Baylor: Baylor's Norchid Omier gets called for a flagrant foul on a hook-and-hold in the paint. Omier hooked Tobe Awaka's arm and pulled him to the ground. Awaka hits both free throws to give Arizona a 45-35 lead.

Arizona 43, Baylor 35, 19:00 left: Tobe Awaka scores in the paint to give Arizona an 8-point lead. Awaka has 8 points and 6 rebounds.

HALFTIME STATS: ARIZONA 41, BAYLOR 33

Arizona is 18-of-30 from the field and 4-of-9 from downtown. Anthony Dell'Orso leads Arizona with 9 points and Caleb Love has 7 points. Freshman Carter Bryant is having a monster game with 5 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Henri Veesaar, who started over Trey Townsend, has 5 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.

The Wildcats are outrebounding Baylor 20 to 14 and have 15 assists to just 6 for Baylor. Freshman VJ Edgecombe leads Baylor with 11 points.

FIRST HALF RECAP

Arizona 41, Baylor 33, halftime: Anthony Dell'Orso leads Arizona with 9 points and VJ Edgecombe leads Baylor with 11 points.

Caleb Love for 3! Love hits a huge 3-pointer with 43 seconds left in the half to give Arizona a 41-31 lead.

Veesaar for three! Henri Veesaar drills a big 3-pointer to give Arizona a 29-24 lead with 4:52 left in the half.

Arizona 24, Baylor 22, 5:58 left: Seven different Arizona players have scored, led by Anthony Dell'Orso with 7 points.

Baylor 20, Arizona 19, 8:00 left: The Wildcats are 1-of-5 from the 3-point line so far, and Baylor is 2-of-9.

Arizona 17, Baylor 14, 10:30 left: Anthony Dell'Orso leads all scorers with 7 points. Carter Bryant has 2 points and 3 rebounds, including an alley-oop dunk.

Arizona 11, Baylor 7, 14:57 left: Anthony Dell'Orso has 5 early points to help the Wildcats get off to a fast start.

PREGAME UPDATES

Baylor is favored by 1.5 points, which speaks to how good the Bears are at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. MST.

More Arizona & Big 12 Analysis

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Ben Sherman
BEN SHERMAN

Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.

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